ALMA-TADEMA, SIR LAURENCE, or LAURENS (1836-1912), British artist, was born Jan. 8 1836, at Dronrijp, a Frisian village near Leeuwarden, the son of Pieter Tadema, a notary, who died when the boy was four years old. In 1852 he entered the Antwerp academy under Gustav Wappers, and sub sequently that of Henri (afterwards Baron) Leys, whom he assisted in 1859 in painting the frescoes in the hall of the Hotel de Ville at Antwerp.
In the exhibition of Alma-Tadema's collected works at the Grosvenor Gallery in London in the winter of 1882-83 were two pictures which may be said to mark the beginning and end of his first period. These were a portrait of himself, dated 1852, and "A Bargain," painted in 186o. His first great success was a picture of "The Education of the Children of Clovis" (1861), which was exhibited at Antwerp. In the following year he received his first gold medal at Amsterdam.
In the '6os and '7os he produced two series of pictures, the sub jects of which are drawn from Merovingian and Egyptian history. These had a considerable popular vogue because each of them told a "story." But Alma-Tadema's most characteristic work was done in his scenes from Greek and Roman life. Among the best known of his earlier pictures of scenes from classical times are "Tarquin ius Superbus" (1867), "Phidias and the Elgin Marbles" (1868), and "The Pyrrhic Dance" and "The Wine Shop" (1869). "The Pyrrhic Dance," though one of the simplest of his compositions, is one of the best. "The Wine Shop" is one of his many pictures of historical genre, but marked with a humour more robust than usual.
In 1863 Alma-Tadema married a French lady, and lived at Brussels till 1869, when she died, leaving him two daughters, Laur ence and Anna, both of whom afterwards made reputations— Laurence in literature, Anna in art. In 1869 he sent from Brussels to the Royal Academy two pictures, "Un Amateur romain" and "Une Dance pyrrhique," which were followed by three pictures, including "Un Jongleur," in 187o, when he came to London. In 1871 he married Miss Laura Epps, who also won a high reputation as an artist.
After his return to England he continued to exhibit important pictures each year, generally on subjects drawn from the classics. Apart from these large canvases he painted some small pictures of exquisite finish, like the "Gold-fish" of 1900. These, as well as all his works, are remarkable for the way in which flowers, textures and hard reflecting substances, like metals, pottery, and especially marble, are painted. His work shows much of the fine execution and brilliant colour of the old Dutch masters.
Alma-Tadema became a naturalized British subject in 1873, and was knighted on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Both birthday, 1899. He was made an associate of the Royal Academy in 1876 and a Royal Academician in 1879. In addition he received honours in many of the capitals of Europe. He died on June 25 1 912 ; a posthumous exhibition of his work was held in London in 1913.
See Georg Ebers, "Lorenz Alma-Tadema," Westermann's Monats hefte, Nov. and Dec. 1885, since republished in volume form; Helen Zimmern, "L. Alma-Tadema, his Life and Work," Art Annual, 1886; C. Monkhouse, British Contemporary Artists (London, 1899).